Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is set to waive-off tariff of National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) till January 31, 2017, "to give impetus to the demonetization drive by Government of India and to facilitate masses to do cashless financial transactions even with feature phone", the state-run telco said in a statement on Monday.

ET Bureau

November 28, 2016, 17:55 IST

Mumbai: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is set to waive-off tariff of National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) till January 31, 2017, "to give impetus to the demonetization drive by Government of India and to facilitate masses to do cashless financial transactions even with feature phone", the state-run telco said in a statement on Monday.

National Unified USSD Platform or NUUP is a mobile banking service based on USSD technology using which an individual can access banking services by just pressing *99# from any mobile phone. Herein, a customer's telecom operator and bank will become parties with whom communication takes place via USSD.

The move is aimed to increase mobile banking services after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes on November 8 by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

"The free usage of this facility/feature will boost government objective to move toward a less cash society. This will enable use of electronic banking facility and reduce difficulty for common man," RK Mittal, Director(CM), BSNL, said in a statement.

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Rs 500 & Rs 1,000 notes scrapped: 10 points you should know

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Tuesday announced demonetisation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes with effect from midnight, making these notes invalid in a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption.

Here are the 10 key points you should know:

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1) Currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations will not be legal beginning November 9

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2) New notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 would be released and circulated from the November 10.

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3) People can deposit notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 in their banks from November 10 till December 30, 2016.

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4) Those unable to deposit Rs 1000, Rs 500 notes by December 30 for some reason, can change them till March 31, 2017 by going to the branch of RBI and filling a declaration form.

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5) November 10-24, old notes worth Rs 4,000 can be exchanged per day. Post November 24, this limit will be increased

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6) The exchange can be done at any bank branch or post office upon showing your ID proof such as the Aadhaar card, Passport, Voter card, Ration card etc.

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7) Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das also appealed that people may try to breach you with the old notes for an exchange, don't let them fool you. All the transactions made inside the bank will be recorded and monitored. In case you are carrying legal cash on behalf of your friends and family members, you can get it exchanged with showing a valid ID proof.

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8) Circulation of notes have incresed by 40% between 2011 and 2016. There has been an increase by 76% in Rs 500 alone and 109% in Rs 1,000 notes. During the same period, the economy has grown by 30%, which is highly dispropotionate, RBI said.

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9) RBI will issue certain guidelines on November 10 along the infusion of the new notes in the market

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10) Control rooms has been setup in Reserve Bank of India and Department of Economic Affairs. The numbers are 022-22602201, 022-22602944.

Jio’s Rs 2,399 annual plan offers 2GB per day data that costs effectively Rs 200 per month. It also offers unlimited voice and SMS. Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 2398 and Rs 2399 annual plans, on the other hand, offer 1.5GB per day data along with unlimited voice and SMS